


(will you) runaway (with me?)

by for23daisies



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Eventual Romance, Fluff, I will add more tags later, M/M, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27560638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/for23daisies/pseuds/for23daisies
Summary: Renjun wished he knew what he was supposed to feel about everything. Renjun wished that as he took the steps down on the aisle, he would finally see the light of what he should have felt. The thing was, Renjun did not know what to expect from the man standing in front of him. Neither he knew what he could promise for their future.So the previous night, when his mom told him to prepare his vow, he sat in his café, and with help from Chenle and Junhui, he pulled his laptop, searched up some common wedding vows on the internet, and arranged it to not make it so obvious.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	1. our firsts

**Author's Note:**

> this is a birthday gift for my babie jie [@chenleejend](https://twitter.com/chenleejend), baby, happy birthday! thank you for being born ♡
> 
> the [playlist💍💐](https://link.tospotify.com/e7QlnnPrpbb)
> 
> the title of the fic is taken from/inspired by The Corrs' Runaway (thanks to my bb gab for recommending the song to me!). this is unbetaed, and roughly edited!

Renjun has always lived carefree; chasing his dreams, living for his freedom, until one day, everything turned into a direction Renjun never expected. And after that, he found himself wanted to run away. Three times.

The story started like this.

It was Thursday, seven in the morning somewhere around the end of September. The weather had dropped since the previous night; making the morning temperature was very low, and _perfect for a cup of coffee_. It was the sole reason why Renjun woke up very early and texted his workers that he would open the café by himself that day.

Renjun straightened his sweater as he found himself shivered over the morning breeze. The walk from the bus stop to his café was not that far, thus he chose to run rather than enduring the cold. Renjun quickly reached inside his tote bag to find the key when he arrived in front of the back door of his café. He was unlocking the door when he felt his phone vibrated inside his tote bag. Struggling taking out his phone with one hand while the other pushing the door open, he almost dropped his phone into the hole in the road near him. He quickly let go of the doorknob and caught his phone; which resulted in getting a hit in his head. Renjun whimpered. _This day starts very bad_ , Renjun said to himself. When he checked his phone, he was convinced that it was going to be a bad day.

**Baba**

**07:26 Baobei, can you come home tonight?**

Renjun felt it was weird that his dad suddenly asked him to go home. He usually went back home on Friday and spent the weekend at home, but it was still Thursday and his dad asked him to go home. His dad must come up with something; to which Renjun sensed it would not turn to be a good thing for him.

He left his café early today as he promised his dad he would be at home before dinner. It did not take long to move from his café to his parents’ house, but just to be safe in case the traffic decided to be troublesome. Renjun called a taxi in front of his café. Renjun did not own a big café; he only had three baristas other than him, three cooks in the kitchen, and a thousand square feet café with 250 cups sold per day. He started everything from zero to build this café, simply because he loved coffee so much and all he wanted to do for the rest of his life was brewing coffee. So yeah, it was not such a big café, but he served one of the best coffee in town.

He arrived at home forty-five minutes later; thanks for the traffic which was being good for him today. He rushed to the kitchen where his mom was preparing for dinner. Renjun washed his hand before taking the apron hung near the fridge to help his mom cooking for dinner.

“Ma, Baba was weird. Why did he tell me to come today? I would visit every Friday, though.” Renjun said while he put the dumplings into the pan. Renjun decided to live alone since he started his university life. He said that it was needed for him to finally arrange his own life and ‘find’ himself. His parents let him, with terms and conditions applied; coming home every Friday, calling when he felt sick no matter what, replying to his parent’s texts as soon as possible. The two last term and conditions were slowly being ignored, but he still always came home every Friday or at least gave his parents prior notice if he could not come back home per usual.

“Baba needs to talk something to you. He is too excited about it that he couldn’t wait for tomorrow.”

Renjun stopped doing his activity and turned around to face his mom; eyebrows furrowed, “What is it about?”

“Not going to tell you that. Wait for your Baba, Baobei.” his mom threw him a smile which was replied with a whine from Renjun.

His dad joined later after the dinner was ready; a thick book in his left hand and glasses in his right hand.

“What are you reading, Baba?” Renjun greeted his dad when he sat in the center chair on his left. His mom also joined and sat in front of him.

“Oh, trust me, you don’t want to know, Baobei.”

“You shouldn’t bring any work to the dining table, Baba.” his mom said while taking the plate in front of Renjun’s dad to fill it with the meals.

“Yeah, sorry. I was too occupied. Here,” Renjun’s dad handed the book to Renjun, “Please put it away from us.” Renjun chuckled at his dad’s jokes and took the book to put it on the other side of the table.

“I heard from Mama you wanted to say something?”

“Yes, yes. After dinner, okay? Let’s talk after dinner.”

ㅡ

Chenle was crashing hurriedly to his café on Monday afternoon. Renjun told him about what his Baba said to him right away after he was done talking with his Baba last Thursday. Renjun really needed to talk to someone and he could only think of Chenle, so here Chenle was; waiting for three days to finally get to meet Renjun. Renjun was cleaning the espresso machine when Chenle came. There were just a few people in the café.

“Ge, I’m here.”

Renjun rolled his eyes; as if it was not obvious enough that Chenle was standing in front of the counter, “I know. I’m looking at you right now.”

“What the hell was that again? Tell me.”

Renjun’s worker who was standing near them stopped measuring the coffee beans on his hand and excused himself to go to the backbar; giving some space for Renjun and Chenle to talk. As if it was on cue, Junhui entered the door not long after that. Renjun looked from Junhui to Chenle; confused.

“Chenle told me last night.”

“You little brat!” Renjun almost threw the coffee portafilters in his hand to Chenle’s direction before he remembered how expensive to get one was.

“He would eventually know, anyway. What’s the difference to tell him now or later?”

Renjun glared at him, “Wait for me on the table. What do you want to get?”

“Strawberry milkshake!”

“Iced Americano double shots.” Junhui joined. Then they walked to one of the empty tables quite far from the crowd.

Renjun made the drinks quick and joined them fifteen minutes later.

“Baba wanted me to get married to his friend’s son,” Renjun opened the talk. “He said they already knew each other for a long time; our grandpas were best friends, so they might as well marry us.”

“That’s weird,” Chenle commented. Renjun sighed because he knew that Chenle was right.

“I know it’s for business.”

“I thought you will have such an idealism for a perfect marriage and love story.”

“I’m not even sure about love or whatever it is,” Renjun paused; thinking whether to say it or not, but he continued, “Baba never asked me anything. That makes it difficult to say no to him. You both also know, right? That I promised Baba I would do anything he wanted me to do if he allowed me to arrange my future.”

“Marriage is one of your future, though.” Junhui was silent before; taking his time to observe the situation. The three of them were practically friends since childhood. Junhui as the oldest among the three, always became the mature one for Renjun and Chenle. He was the one the youngers could lean onto.

“I know. I hate to know that even if it’s for business, I can understand why Baba did this,” the rest of them waited for Renjun to finish what he wanted to say. “I never for once got involved in managing Baba’s business, and of course the company needs someone to take over it one day when Baba retires, and that’s not me. He chose the man I would be married to because that’s the only way Baba would trust him to take over the company.”

“If my Baba would ever do that to me, I’ll riot,” Chenle said carelessly.

“Try him.” Renjun challenged. Chenle’s Baba was Renjun’s uncle and he knew that both his Baba and his uncle almost had similar traits. It was almost like Chenle’s Baba would take the same route as his Baba; which thankfully it would not, since Chenle was raised to manage his family’s business since young.

“If you’re sure with what you chose, we will always support that, Jun. As long as you know what you’re going to do and what consequences you’re going to go through. It’s about a lifetime decision, Jun. It’s a marriage for life.” Junhui spoke; always being the mature one.

“Yeah. I still don’t know what to decide even when the situation is actually pretty clear. At least, Baba will let me meet the man first.”

“Good luck, Ge.” Chenle slurped his last sip of milkshake and added, “Don’t forget to choose us as your best men.” He gained one punch on the head from Junhui and a kick from Renjun.

Later that day, Renjun texted his Baba that he agreed to meet Jeno and his family.

ㅡ

Renjun never expected that the usual lunch that he agreed on to have with Jeno’s family turned into the meeting of two families. He thought it would be just a casual meeting, but here he was; sitting in a private room in a restaurant that his parents reserved for the meeting. Jeno’s family was sitting in front of him. He gave such an awkward smile at first, but Jeno’s mom was very warm. She took Renjun’s hand, caressed it while she was smiling so tenderly. Jeno’s dad was the typical businessman in general, and he also had such a warm smile that made Renjun less nervous. Jeno… was exceptionally good-looking; broad shoulders, athletic build, tall. He was wearing a white and blue square-pattern shirt with a grey coat which he put in a chair beside him when he sat. When Renjun observed the conversation that Jeno and his dad made, he knew exactly why his dad really liked Jeno. Jeno was incredibly smart and committed to what he was doing. Different from Renjun, Jeno had started to learn how to handle his dad’s company at a very young age. He was just twenty-five, but he had successfully impressed the shareholders and became the CEO of his dad’s company. All of this information, he got it from both his dad and Jeno because his dad kept going, ‘Oh! Tell him about this!’ and ‘Tell him about your college!’ to Jeno. He was actually embarrassed because his dad continuously hyped and obviously tried hard to _promote_ Jeno to him like that. Despite all of that secondhand embarrassment that he got, Renjun respected Jeno for actually doing everything in his own way, although his dad could easily give that everything for him. In short, Jeno had so much in himself that Renjun’s dad liked, and just by thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.

“Renjun, do you perhaps have free time after this?” Jeno suddenly asked, almost made Renjun jumped out of his seat.

Without even looking at his parents, he knew that his parents were looking in his direction; expecting some good response from him, and since Renjun did not want to sound rude, he said, “Yes, of course. Do you have anything I could help with?” Jeno flew from South Korea to only meet him, so Renjun thought it would only be fair if he could be nice to Jeno during his stay. Jeno would fly back to Korea the next day, though. So, it did not take much to accompany him for a day, really.

“I was thinking of asking you to have, I don’t know, maybe some tea while having some chats?”

“Sure. Do you want to drop by my café? It’s not far from here.”

“Oh, I would love to.” Jeno’s eyes turned into crescents when he smiled; such a soft touch added up to his sharp features. When his default face would make him look a bit fierce, his crescent smiles would quickly swipe off that impression. And Jeno liked to smile.

At the end of the meeting, Jeno proposed his plan in courting Renjun to be his partner which was welcomed by a wide smile from both of Renjun’s parents. Renjun was undeniably shocked. He did not expect things would be going this way. It seemed that Jeno knew he was putting Renjun in such a difficult position because then he told Renjun to take his time in answering Jeno’s proposal.

“I will think carefully about it. Thank you, Jeno.” Renjun responded, which also became the ending of the meeting.

As they already agreed to go to Renjun’s café, when they were done with their lunch, Renjun and Jeno headed out first since their parents also _still had things to talk_ , they said. All the way to the café, Renjun continuously hoped that Junhui and Chenle would not come to the café when Jeno was around. It would be a disaster that Renjun had not yet prepared for. He had already had so many unexpected encounters today, he could not handle Chenle and Junhui after all of that.

“You can sit anywhere you want to,” Renjun told Jeno once they arrived at his café. He thanked the Universe when his worker told him that Chenle had left earlier that day. Chenle was currently taking his double degree in the university. He would drop by the café almost every day to do his assignments because he was too bored doing things in his house alone, and honestly, Chenle just liked to mess around with Renjun when he was working. Though, Renjun enjoyed Chenle’s presence a lot, so even if Renjun seemed annoyed when Chenle was messing with him, he actually liked to have Chenle around during working hours. Young Chenle was like a little brother that Renjun adored, then Renjun found out that as they both grew up, Chenle could become both a little brother and a friend that Renjun always needed. “Anyway, what do you want to get?”

“Just Americano, please,” Jeno answered, then he chose to walk to the far end of the room and sat at one free table in the corner near the window.

Renjun quickly went behind the bar and pulled some fresh shots for Jeno. After pouring a jug of hot water into the cup, Renjun brought it to Jeno’s table.

“Here, take a sip while it’s still hot,” Renjun walked to the other seat in front of Jeno after placing the cup in front of him. “That’s the best way to enjoy coffee.”

“While it’s still hot?” Jeno chuckled; trying to joke around to light up the situation.

Renjun laughed; Jeno succeeded. “I mean when it’s hot but not hot enough to burn your tongue. The taste can be different when you take too long to drink it.”

The weather that afternoon was thankfully clear; blue sky, white clouds. The atmosphere helped to make him felt a lot better, and he was back to his café, and the smell of coffee was all he needed to feel calmer.

Jeno took a sip of the coffee Renjun made. “Do you like coffee a lot?” Jeno asked, putting his black cup back to the coaster on the table.

“A lot,” Renjun stopped; contemplating whether to say it or not, but then he managed to ask, “What is this? Do you have a list of questions you want to ask me now?” Renjun laughed which made Jeno laughed along.

“I’m just trying to make us less awkward.”

They both went silent for a while. Renjun was busying himself looking outside the window when there was nothing to see outside except the vehicles passed by.

Jeno broke the silence, “Renjun. I want to apologize for the sudden proposal today. I was informed that your Baba already told you about my intention, and I was thinking that it was such a good chance to let you know directly. I know you’ve known it so well, that’s it’s all related to business,” Jeno took a deep breath in between, “But I still want us to be as comfortable as possible around each other. I’m going to marry you to be my partner.” Jeno emphasized in the ‘you’ as if he wanted to tell Renjun that it was not necessarily just for business; that it was still going to be a marriage between two people and not two companies.

“Yeah, I know we both know the exact reason for this, and we didn’t need to explain to each other about that. I really appreciate your effort, though.”

Jeno smiled, “Can I ask you one more question?”

“Yeah, go on, Jeno.”

“Are you in a relationship with anyone? Or is having someone that you like right now?” Renjun was surprised at the question. Well, he had not even asked himself yet if he actually ever fell in love at all.

“No, don’t worry,” Renjun answered; short and clear.

“Okay. I just, you know, it would be hard to be with someone who had someone else in their mind.”

Renjun let out laughter; not an audible one, he was laughing deep down in his heart. The scene was so funny for him because as much as he understood what Jeno said to him, it felt strange how it was just a few days ago he could live free without thinking of what others would feel, and here he was now. Renjun did not realize he was being silent for quite long until Jeno blurted out a sorry.

“Oh, no. you don’t need to apologize. I understand what you wanted to say. I was just thinking of something else. Sorry.” Jeno’s expression was lightened a bit. Renjun could not believe how easy it was to see him through his expression, _eyes_.

“Renjun,” Jeno suddenly fixed his sitting position; back straight, shoulders back. “You know that after you agree to this arrangement, our dads would directly proceed with the engagement announcement to the media, right?”

Jeno’s face turned serious, and he could picture how his own face was reflecting the same expression. Renjun was aware that his dad wanted this marriage to proceed as soon as possible; for whatever reason his dad had, Renjun did not know. Yet, Renjun had not to think about what he would face once the news came out to the public. He knew both his family and Jeno’s family were very well-known that once they made it public, he would deal with all the media interviews and see his face all over the morning news during the economic and business section. Renjun had not yet prepared for that.

Still, Renjun nodded, “When will it be announced?” Renjun’s voice was small; as if he actually did not want his question to be answered, but he needed the answer at the same time.

“Depends on your answer, I think. But dad said if you agree to his, they want to proceed with our marriage in a month,” Jeno paused to take Renjun’s hand on his; very carefully that Renjun could not do anything but let him. “I know this is all so sudden, and it can be so overwhelming for you. That’s why I want us to at least learn to get used to each other. As I said before, you don’t need to hurry, forget about our parents’ plan, and just take your time to think about this carefully.”

Renjun smiled at Jeno; appreciating his effort to make it a bit bearable for Renjun. Well, at least the guy in front of him who suddenly became his soon-to-be fiancé was not some kind of rude rich guy whom Renjun would not be able to handle. At least, Jeno was far from rude, and he was good at initiating.

“It’s okay, Jeno. I would manage it. I think you have also known my answer to this arrangement already,” afraid that he did not make it clear enough for Jeno, he continued, “It’s a yes. I know where this arrangement is going, well, I don’t know much about my dad’s business, but I know the purpose of this marriage. Although I said today that I would think about it, yet it would eventually be a yes.”

Jeno left the café around fifteen minutes after that as his dad was suddenly calling him to go back to their hotel. Jeno bid goodbye with a smile and a promise to meet him again soon.

ㅡ

**Young CEO Lee Jeno from Lee Corporation – South Korea, and the Heir of Huang Family Huang Renjun announce the engagement and plans for a Fall wedding**

Renjun has read those similar titles of news since this morning. The picture of him and his family which was taken during his graduation, the opening of the café, and his dad’s business events that he attended, was all displayed everywhere; on television, the homepage of his phone’s browser, even some people on social media were reposting the announcement. Jeno’s side has called for his dad’s secretary yesterday, exactly two days after their last meeting, and informed about the article which would be released the next day. So actually, Renjun should have prepared for it. He did, but it did not change the fact that it still bothered him somehow. He decided to not go to his café the whole day. After the announcement was out, all he wanted to do was lying on the bed.

Chenle called in the morning, right after the news came out, asking if he was okay which was replied by such an annoyed _“You think?”_. Chenle promised to bring ice creams and sweets when he came over. So here he was, standing in front of Renjun’s apartment door with two hands full of plastic bags. Chenle quickly propped up himself on the sofa; dropping the plastic bags on the table right away.

“God, it was too tiring to go to the convenience store alone. Look, even my hands got so red bringing all those heavy plastic bags.” Chenle complained while hugging one pillow of the sofa in front of his chest.

“Gosh, you’re overreacting.”

“Yes, you’re very much welcomed, Ge,” Renjun rolled his eyes and went to take out everything inside the bags. Chenle bought two big baskets of ice cream; mint chocolate for Renjun and vanilla for him, a bunch of gummies, and another kind of sweets and snacks. “Are you feeling okay, Ge?”

Renjun stopped his hands from taking out the snacks, “You bought a lot of sweets. Oh my God, your mom is going to kill me alive.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Chenle insisted.

Renjun sighed. He knew he could not play dumb with Chenle. He would chase him until he gave the answer that Chenle wanted to hear, so he sighed again; plopping himself to the side of the sofa, head near Chenle’s legs. “I’m not good. I don’t know. It just feels strange.”

“You know, I feel like I couldn’t understand, but understand you at the same time,” Chenle got up and leaned his back to the arm of the sofa; looking right to Renjun’s direction. “I don’t understand why the Renjun that is so carefree and always prioritizes your own freedom first, is willing to do this arrangement. But at the same time, I could understand why. You’re always a family-oriented person, anyway.”

Renjun chuckled at Chenle’s confession. The fact that Chenle always checked up on him even tried to understand the matter he was currently facing sent warmth to Renjun’s heart. Chenle was the type of ‘take it or leave it’ person, so Renjun was surprised that instead of telling Renjun to choose between yes or no, this time on this matter, he would always sit with him to make his presence known; tried to understand why it was not the matter of yes or no for Renjun.

“It’s okay. I guess I just need time to get used to it.”

“I just don’t want you to lose yourself, Ge.”

“I won’t, Lele.”

Upon the mention of Chenle’s nickname, surprisingly, Chenle did not complain. Renjun used to call him by that name just to get some reactions from him, but this time, Chenle just let Renjun call him with that nickname.

“Go take some spoons and let’s eat the ice cream before it’s all melted,” Chenle said while taking one of the baskets to his lap.

Renjun grabbed a pillow near him and threw it at Chenle’s face, “How dare you telling your Gege around like that?!” but Renjun still proceeded to stand up and went to the kitchen to get them the spoons.

“Have you told Junhui Ge about all of this?” Chenle asked once Renjun was back from the kitchen and giving out a spoon for him.

“Pretty sure he already found out. The news is everywhere.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. Perhaps, I’ll tell him after he is off from work today. Or, we will find him standing by my door this evening even before I call him.”

They both laughed. At least for now, with a basket of mint chocolate ice cream on his lap and Chenle beside him in his living room, things were better than before.

ㅡ

Three days after, Renjun found himself sitting on the sofa in his dad’s office. His dad asked him to come over as Jeno’s secretary was coming to the company to talk about the wedding plan. Kwon Naeun, that was the name of the secretary who was sitting in front of him now. She was here to try arranging the schedule for their wedding preparation. When Renjun was asked for his free time, he almost laughed at himself because unlike his dad, Jeno, or anyone else around him at the moment, Renjun was the only one who had all the time for himself. He mainly stayed in his café because he wanted to control everything that was going, also for the first and foremost reason that he liked making coffee. If it was needed for him to do something else, he actually had enough workers to handle his café and be outside for as long as he wanted. So when being asked about his free time, it was ridiculous how it sounded like he was the last busy among everyone.

“Should we always meet to arrange everything? I mean, since it would take a lot of Jeno’s time to come here back and forth.” Renjun asked.

“No. Actually, both of your moms would directly arrange everything with the wedding organizer, but we still need the both of you for some appointments, like meeting the tailor for your wedding tuxes and also choosing the wedding rings.”

Renjun gave only a silent response to the answer. As someone who always planned what he wanted to do by himself, it felt funny how this time, for something as big as a wedding ceremony, someone else would plan it all for him. It was his mom, though. So it should have been okay, but he could not lie that he felt otherwise. He was struggling through his own battle lately; like sometimes his mind and heart were arguing about the whole thing. He wanted to run away, except, he did not have enough reason to do so.

ㅡ

“What are you making?” Renjun’s mom asked. He was visiting his parents’ house as usual. He also thought he needed to talk a lot of things with his mom that he decided to go there on Friday in the morning.

“Just some coffee for relaxing. Do you wanna some coffee?” His mom shook her head and proceeded to sit in front of Renjun. Renjun put back the kettle on the table and threw the paper filter from the coffee dripper into the trash bin. He chose to do manual brewing as he saw some new beans in the kitchen cabinet; it was usually his dad who brought home some beans when he went overseas for business.

The smell of his coffee filled the air. Renjun smiled to himself; satisfied.

“The package just arrived yesterday. Baba said Jeno sent it for you.” If Renjun was not gripping his cup tight enough, he was sure it would slip easily from his hold.

“Jeno?” He was surprised at the mention of Jeno’s name. His baba had not said anything yet to him, though.

“Yeah. We were busy yesterday so we forgot to tell you, but since you said you would be coming in the morning, so we thought we would just tell you today.” Renjun just continuously nodded while grabbing the package of the coffee beans he brewed before. It was from one of the best roasteries in Busan. Renjun recalled he went to that roaster last year when he accompanied his dad for a business trip in Korea, thus he thought it was his dad again who brought it home this time. The thing that made him surprised was the fact that Lee Jeno sent a package full of coffee beans for him. He did not know how to interpret the situation. As if his mom could read what was on Renjun’s mind, she added, “Don’t you think he is trying to get your heart?” Renjun blurted out his morning coffee.

“What?” Renjun was aware that Jeno was trying to make them comfortable around each other, but stealing heart? His mom was surely making assumptions.

“Why? I mean, look, he was sending you your favorite things!” his mom insisted.

“Yeah, I know. But Ma, don’t set your hope too high. We’re just trying to be friendly with each other, I think. It hasn’t been that far.”

“Mama understands, Baobei. Mama is just so excited for you. Is everything okay, though?”

“What everything?”

“The arrangement. Mama was waiting for you to complain or just tell us something, but you unexpectedly just agreed to everything. You know you can always tell Mama everything, right?”

Renjun smiled warmly, “Jeno is a good guy, Ma. I know why Baba likes him a lot. I would be lying if I said everything is okay, but I’ll manage.”

“Baba has talked about Jeno to Mama for a quite long time, but he never knew how to tell you about him. Business aside, Baba really likes Jeno for his personality, and we know his family too, so we are sure you will be in a good hand.”

“He did? Maybe that’s why both of them go well together,” It surprised Renjun when he found out that the conversation between his Baba and Jeno went so well during their lunch the last time. He knew the reason now. “and I know you and Baba won’t let me fall into bad hands, Mama.”

And as much as he trusted his parents, he still could not shake the strange feeling, but they did not need to know that.

ㅡ

Renjun’s second meeting with Jeno was during their schedule to meet the tailor for their wedding tuxedos. Renjun’s mom personally asked Jeno’s family to meet the tailor his family usually went to, since Renjun’s mom already knew the quality of the tuxedos they made, and Jeno’s family agreed to that.

Renjun arrived at the tailor’s place first with his mom. They spent the time checking the tuxedos catalogs while waiting for Jeno to come. When being asked about what kind of tuxedos he wanted to wear, Renjun’s mind went blank. He never thought about that; well, he was barely functional lately, let alone thinking about something like that.

“I’m not sure, but maybe something simple?” He said; hoping it would satisfy them enough, and not making this whole thing so obvious that Renjun was not prepared at all.

“You can check the catalog with your fiancé to find some inspirations, and we can help for the rest.” Renjun simply nodded while he continued flipping the catalogs in his hands.

Jeno arrived five minutes later with his mom. Jeno quickly went to greet Renjun’s mom first.

“We’re sorry for being late, Mama. The traffic was unexpectedly heavy.” Renjun gulped. He was not used to the whole situation. It felt extremely strange to hear someone else called his mom the same way as him.

“It’s okay, Jeno. We didn’t wait long.” Renjun’s mom shook Renjun’s elbow lightly, bringing him back to reality.

Renjun tried to put aside the itchy feeling in his heart and welcomed the hug Jeno’s mom offered, “How was your flight yesterday? I hoped you had a good rest.” he said, letting Jeno’s mom pulled him for a short hug.

“It was okay, Renjun. Oh My God, you look so cute today!”

Renjun felt how his cheeks turned red; he could never stand compliments, “Thank you… Mom.” The word was hung at the end of the sentence. It sounded foreign even for his own ears. If the rest of them felt that too, no one said anything.

Jeno’s and Renjun’s moms reunited so fast that they started to talk about everything on their own and ignored their sons’ existence. Jeno walked closer to Renjun.

“Hey, been good?” Jeno greeted; hand touched Renjun’s arm lightly.

Renjun was surprised by the action, but he did not show it, “Yeah. How about you? Must be tiring to go here back and forth.” Jeno pulled Renjun to sit back on his seat. Renjun complied.

“Not a big deal. I’m getting used to it,” Jeno saw the catalogs on the table, “Have you been checking the catalogs?”

Renjun finally remembered what he was doing before Jeno came and shook him with everything. He took the catalog he had checked before and gave it to Jeno, “I’ve been flipping through this one. Do you wanna see?”

“Do you have anything in mind?” Jeno took the catalog from Renjun’s hands. Their hands brushed, and Renjun would never get used to it.

“If I can be honest, I actually haven’t thought anything about that,” Renjun saw Jeno suddenly smiled, “Why are you smiling?”

“You look cute when you pout.” Jeno quickly opened the catalog and focused on checking the pictures, leaving Renjun dumbfounded by Jeno’s comment.

“Anyway, I’ve tried the beans you sent to our house. It’s so good, thanks.” Renjun attempted to change the topic.

“Really? Glad if you like it. I was passing through the roaster when I visited Busan and I thought of you.” Jeno looked at Renjun’s eyes, smiled then averted his eyes back to the catalog. Renjun wished, he could forget all the awkward feeling he felt.

It took almost half a day for them to finalize the model and the material. After having a late lunch in the afternoon, they went to check the wedding rings for them. As much as Renjun and Jeno wanted to make it simple, Renjun’s mom insisted to carve the rings, so that when the two rings were united, it would form their initial names, JR, on one side and a heart on the other side. Renjun thought it was a bit too much, but his mom looked so excited, so he just shrugged. Jeno did not contradict the idea either; whether it was because he liked it, or he was just being the nice son, Renjun would never know.

After that day, they had not met again. All the preparation for the wedding was split into two. Jeno would do things he could do in Korea, and Renjun would do the rest in China since the wedding ceremony would be held in Renjun’s hometown. Normal people would usually prepare a wedding for six months until a year, but well, _of course, money speaks louder_ , Renjun thought. Rather than being proud of the wealth of his parents or Jeno’s family, he thought it was ridiculous realizing the power of money in his life. Sometimes he felt sick, though he never showed it.

ㅡ

It was six in the morning of October 23. The sun was just showing its half when Renjun rode his car. The road was still empty, and when he pushed down his car window, he could feel the calming morning breeze touched the tip of his nose. He breathed in the refreshing air before it turned to be suffocating.

Five hours later, he found himself standing with his dad; under the arch covered with white fabric and flowers he had chosen weeks ago. In front of him, unfold a long white carpet with flowers on each side. Around two-hundreds guests were sitting on white chairs with flowers arrangement on the back of each chair. He could hear the birds chirping. The sun has almost risen to its peak, and the sky was clear as crystal. Even the Universe was happy today, and Renjun should have been too.

He took a deep breath. Jeno was standing at the end of the aisle; waiting for him to come. Today too, Renjun could not even lie that Jeno looked so good as ever; brown hair with a glimpse of his forehead, embroidered black tuxedo and black shirt beneath it, a small black ribbon tie was added around his collar to make a perfect finish for his look. Renjun was wearing the same tuxedo as Jeno with the difference on his shirt; Renjun’s shirt was white with a ruffle collar.

Renjun’s dad held his right hand while Renjun’s left hand was holding a bouquet full of white lilies wrapped in a white ribbon.

“Don’t be nervous, Baobei. Know that Ba and Ma love you so much.” Renjun heard his dad said, then let go of his right hand and brought it to circle his dad’s elbow instead.

Renjun wished he knew what he was supposed to feel about everything. Renjun wished that the steps he took with his dad down the aisle would finally help him saw the light of what he should have felt. He heard Chenle and Junhui were singing in the corner.

_And I would runaway_

_I would runaway, yeah_

Oh, how he wished it would just a usual romantic-tragic drama he watched on Sunday morning where another man would come to take him out from there and ran away from the world; pursuing the ending of the story they dreamt of.

_'Cause I have fallen in love_

_With you, no never have_

_I'm never gonna stop falling in love, with you_

Junhui threw him a warm smile. Chenle gave him a thumbs-up, and he could never miss how his mom started to wipe out her tears. There, on the right side of the aisle, his mom was sitting beside Jeno’s mom and dad who would soon be his mother and father-in-law. Many journalists on the left side were starting to capture the moment; with the absence of the flash camera because Renjun personally requested it. After all, it made him felt dizzy.

Jeno took his right hand from his dad’s hold. _Will I ever fall in love with this man?_ Renjun asked himself; while letting Jeno held his hand tight. Jeno took the ring they had chosen weeks ago and was so ready to put it on his finger. Renjun still hoped he could run away. He looked at the silver ring that now was beautifully placed in his ring finger. It reflected the sunlight above him; made it shining, made it even more real. It was his turn to put the ring in Jeno’s finger, but he was taking too long staring at his own finger. Jeno might take the whole situation as Renjun being nervous because he then felt Jeno rubbed his hand with his thumb and offered a very warm smile. Renjun looked up to Jeno’s eyes, and he was surprised when he saw Jeno’s eyes were teary. _Is he about to cry?_ Renjun asked himself. He could not understand why Jeno’s eyes were teary as if it was necessary to do at all; _does he get carried away with the situation?_ Renjun wanted to ask, but there was no time for that as he saw Junhui waving at the back; urging him to quickly put the ring in Jeno’s finger.

Renjun wished he knew what to hope for.

They were told to recite their vows. The thing was, Renjun did not know what to expect from the man standing in front of him. He did not know what he could promise for their future, either. So the previous night, when his mom told him to prepare his vow, he sat in his café, and with help from Chenle and Junhui, he pulled his laptop, searched up some common wedding vows on the internet, and arranged it to not make it so obvious.

“I vow to always do my best to give more than I take. I will continuously work to be the better version of me, to work everything out with you, and make the better version of us.”

Renjun ended his vow. He looked up to Jeno as it was his turn to recite his.

“The day when I asked you to be my partner, I knew it was such a big decision I have ever made in my life. I promise to give you the comfort you need; to give you space and time to make us work. Today, I took your hand from your dad, and I promise to bring you to somewhere better. I could not offer the world as I do not own it, but I can offer you all of me as starting from today, I will be all yours. I want to take you to a home we build together. And if you could trust me enough, I want to make a home that we own together, not as two people but as one, us.”

Renjun hated the fact how he felt it was all sincere; that Jeno really took his time to think and write the vow all from his heart. It would not be fair for him if he poured all his feelings into it, while Renjun did not do the same. It made Renjun felt guilty.

_“I now pronounce you married at last, you may kiss your partners.”_

There came another thing Renjun had not yet thought about. He saw Jeno took a step closer and pulled him close by the waist. With his beautiful eyes, he looked at Renjun; waiting for his permission, and perhaps, also waiting for his heart to open up.

Renjun closed his eyes, letting Jeno took the clue. And Jeno understood, so he leaned in, took Renjun’s lips on his. Renjun could feel the warmth on his lips. Jeno’s kiss tasted sweet; he took him slowly while he continuously caressed Renjun’s back; reassuring him in every way possible. The cheer of the crowd filled the air; flew high to the sky, and if Jeno did not caress his back now, he would feel so overwhelming that he might run away. But with Jeno’s hand holding him close and steadying him, he found the ground to stand, and if Renjun was not fully sure about anything at all before, he might be sure of one thing then, that at least, he could lean onto Jeno to find his ground.


	2. from now on, with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first morning Renjun spent in Jeno’s house was so much better than he ever expected. It did not totally feel foreign for him; the smell of coffee still filled the room, and he got a super nice company to talk to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's just a whole chapter full of fluff because I miss jenren so much lately (Ｔ▽Ｔ) this chapter might feel like a filler, but I really want to show you how they started and slowly moved together.
> 
> I listened a lot to Say Yes, by Loco & Punch during the writing process!

When Renjun woke up the next morning, it had not hit him yet; it was just like the usual weekend when he spent the nights in his parents’ house. Renjun took down the stairs and headed to the kitchen, quickly hit the power button of his espresso machine.

“Good morning,” he said while proceeding to hug his mom from the back. It was until then when he heard laughter from the back of his yard that he realized something.

“Chenle slept over last night. He said he was so exhausted to go home last night.”

Renjun heard Chenle’s laughter, but it was not that one which made all the realization back to his mind. There beside Chenle and his dad, stood someone whose presence was foreign for him, but not foreign enough from now on as they had been already pronounced married yesterday. Jeno was standing with pruning shears in his hand; helping his dad taking care of the plants he and his mom raised. Chenle seemed to realize that he was watching them because Chenle started to wave in his direction while calling him, and Renjun quickly turned around from the glass door and walked away.

“Your parents-in-law flew back to Korea last night. They had an urgent meeting this morning so they should rush back home.”

Something inside his stomach twisted when he heard his mom mentioned his parents-in-law. He just nodded, “I’m going to shower first, Ma.” and rushed back to his room, then he recalled.

_After the wedding ceremony, Renjun and Jeno headed to the luxurious hotel where their parents held a banquet attended by mostly their business partners. It was such a tiring day for Renjun that he could not remember clearly what was happening the whole night but he remembered how embarrassingly Chenle asked him and Jeno to sing on stage, and Jeno already dragged him to the stage before he could say anything. He went down from the stage with a whole red face and chucked down a glass of wine he grabbed from the nearest table. The rest of the story was blurred in his memory, he could only remember he went back home in the same car with Chenle and went directly to his room after they arrived, changed his tuxedos with pajama, and threw himself to the bed._

Renjun just stepped out of the bathroom when he found Jeno peeked through the door. Both of them were surprised when they locked eyes.

“Uhm, I was just going to call you for breakfast,” Jeno said, hesitating.

“Okay,” Renjun scratched the back of his neck though it was not itchy at all. “Jeno,”

“Yeah?”

“We’re going to Korea today, right? Can we, can we drop by my café and apartment today?”

“Of course,” Jeno smiled, eyes turned into crescents. “Take all the time you need. We have a lot of time before our flight tonight.”

“Okay.”

Jeno turned around and started to walk, probably back to the kitchen, and Renjun was about to follow him before Jeno halted and turned back to Renjun. “Also, I slept on the sofa last night, so you don’t need to worry.” and sprinted so fast before Renjun could say anything.

When Renjun came to the dining table, his parents, Jeno, and Chenle were already sitting in their seats. Renjun walked to the empty seat between Jeno and Chenle because he knew Chenle set him up again to sit beside Jeno; bitter truth to swallow, it was not totally weird to sit next to his _husband_ at all.

They were silently enjoying their meals when Chenle suddenly whispered to Renjun’s ears, “I was expecting something from your room last night, but all I could hear was just you two snoring.”

Renjun choked on a mouthful of cheese bacon. What surprising for the rest of them was how Jeno quickly reached for a glass of water and handed it to Renjun while another hand continuously caressed Renjun’s back. Renjun mouthed small ‘thanks’ when he was done; mainly because he was so embarrassed. He managed to step on Chenle’s foot while whispering back, “You gotta pay for this. I’m not giving you free entertainment.”

The rest of the morning was spent in the living room enjoying coffee that Renjun made. Renjun’s dad was asking Jeno about his preparation before registering his marriage with Renjun, in which Renjun pretended he did not hear anything because thinking about it made him felt chills. Renjun’s mom was busy checking on Renjun’s stuff that he needed to bring to Korea, though he already told his mom that most of his things had already been shipped to Korea days before since Renjun did not want to bring a lot of stuff on the day he moved to Korea. Everyone was busy, and so was Chenle; he was busy gaming on the television.

ㅡ

Approximately at eleven in the morning, Jeno and Renjun were already in the marriage registration office; filling all the registration application forms. Chenle followed them, sitting not far from where Jeno and Renjun sat; he was busy playing a game with his Nintendo. It took an hour or so for Jeno and Renjun to collect their marriage certificate. After they picked up the certificate, they decided to go to Renjun’s café to have lunch there while Renjun checked his café for the last time. Of course, Chenle joined them.

“Should I call Gege to join? Is that okay for you, Ge?” the last question was directed to Jeno.

“Sure. I haven’t properly talked with Junhui Ge. I think it’s a good chance to meet and talk with him.”

“Yeah, we should have had a brother talk or something.” and Renjun hit Chenle with his elbow.

When they arrived in the café, Junhui was already there; wearing his golf pants and t-shirt, sitting quietly enjoying a glass of iced Americano and a plate of two sandwiches.

“Sorry, I just came back from playing golf, so I ordered first without waiting.”

“It’s okay, Ge,” Renjun said, then quickly disappeared to the kitchen. Renjun came back to Junhui’s table only three minutes after. “I ordered three plates of sandwiches for us, is that okay?” When he gained nods from Chenle and Jeno, he continued, “What drinks do you guys want?”

“The usual.” Chenle answered, which meant strawberry milkshake.

“Latte would be good,” Jeno responded.

They enjoyed their lunch while having some talks, mostly Junhui and Chenle telling Jeno about embarrassing moments that Renjun had in his lifetime; for example, when they went to the haunted house and Renjun screamed the whole time from the moment they entered the haunted house until they exited, or when Renjun was always lost during games, such kind of talks.

When they, _finally_ ¸ stopped laughing, Renjun took his time to look at his surroundings and capture the very moment for his memory. He remembered how he went to find the furniture for his café by himself, how he cried during the opening of his café, how he was so happy when he got his first customer. Three years and there were a lot of things Renjun experienced and learned from managing a café.

“I should ask you both to take care of this café for me,” Renjun said to Junhui and Chenle out of sudden. Chenle and Junhui, who were previously laughing on their own bubble, then looked at Renjun in a reassuring silence.

“We would do it even if you didn’t ask us to do so, Jun,” Junhui spoke.

Chenle was a bit silent and surprisingly clingy after that. He followed Renjun everywhere, from cleaning the table and going to the kitchen to put the dishes, until when Renjun said some words to his workers before going home, Chenle was staying close beside Renjun all along.

“Why do you keep following me around? You want something from me, don’t you?” Chenle did not answer. Instead, he pulled Renjun into a hug which caused a shock to Renjun. “What’s wrong with you?”

Instead of pulling away, Chenle hugged him tighter and said, “You have to promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”

Renjun let out a small laugh and hugged Chenle back. He realized that Chenle was still his little baby after all. “I promise you I’ll be fine, Lele.” Renjun pulled away to check on Chenle. “Are you crying?”

“I spent a whole twenty-two years with you. As much as I don’t want to be a crybaby, but I’m just so sad, you know.” Chenle pouted, and Renjun hugged him again.

“I’m just moving to another place; somewhere within your reach. It’s not like we would never meet again. You still can pay me a visit and Jeno wouldn’t even mind.” Renjun said while looking in Jeno’s direction.

Upon the mention of his name, Jeno glanced at Renjun and Chenle’s direction, and he seemed to understand what was going on, “Yeah, you can visit us and I’ll let you play with my games. Our door will always open for you anytime.”

Junhui stood up from his seat and when to Renjun and Chenle; they were standing near the counter, not far from where Junhui and Jeno were sitting.

“Take care of yourself, okay? Don’t think too much. I’ll take care of Chenle and the café, and your parents too, so don’t worry too much about us and just, having a good life with Jeno, okay?”

Renjun really wanted to break down and cry at the very moment. It just actually hit him that he would start a new journey soon, and while he was not afraid to start anew, it just would feel so different that he would start it all in a place totally foreign for him. But he was holding himself, he basically did not like to show his weakness in front of others.

“Thank you so much, Ge. I wouldn’t be able to do anything without you both, and I actually don’t want to make it seems like a goodbye, because it’s not. I will come to visit you often, and you can come to see me too, anytime.” Renjun pulled Junhui for a short hug, so the three of them hugged each other, but Renjun pulled away as quickly as he pulled them in. “I will drop by my apartment first with Jeno, before heading back home. Can you drive Chenle home?” Renjun asked while he walked to Jeno and sat beside him.

“Sure,” Junhui replied.

Renjun and Jeno’s visit to Renjun’s apartment was so short. Renjun just needed to make sure that he already locked the windows and removed all the cables. After that, they went back home.

ㅡ

Junhui and Chenle came along to the airport to send them off. There were no tears from either Renjun’s parents or even Renjun. It was as if Renjun had prepared their parents for this kind of day; he had moved out from his house so early, and his parents already trusted him that he was more than capable to take care of himself. His mom and dad hugged him tight for the last time before giving him more and more advice for his future marriage life as if he had not got it enough yet since the previous days.

After they were boarding, Jeno let Renjun chose the seat near the window.

“Are you feeling sad?” Jeno asked when their plane already took off.

Renjun was looking at the sky outside the window. He turned to Jeno, “No? Not really?” The answer sounded more like a question to himself rather than an actual answer.

“Don’t worry too much. As I already promised you, I’ll take care of you.” Jeno said while rubbing a circle on Renjun’s knee. Renjun really appreciated all the efforts Jeno made to always calm him in times he needed the most. Then it reminded him of their wedding day and Renjun remembered something he was eager to ask, _oh, the vow_.

“Jeno, can I ask?”

“Go ahead.”

“Your vow, during our wedding… did you write it yourself?”

“Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?” Renjun almost choked on his own saliva. Guilt rushed to him that he felt regretting his decision to ask. _Why would he write it himself?_ Renjun was busy with his own thoughts until Jeno tapped his knee slightly. “Is everything okay?”

Renjun nodded, “Yeah yeah. I’ll sleep for a while, okay? Please wake me up when we arrive later.”

“Okay. Sleep well.”

Liar. Renjun could not sleep for the rest of their trip even he had tried so hard to sleep. He realized how Jeno did not stop rubbing his knee even after a while and of course, he knew when Jeno wrapped him with a blanket. He did not dare to open his eyes. He just did not know what he would do around Jeno.

They arrived in Incheon at midnight. Jeno’s driver was already waiting for them and quickly helped them to bring their suitcases.

Jeno’s house was in the Pyeongchang-dong district. Still the wealthiest neighborhood with upscale houses, but was quieter than Gangnam, with many hills and tree-lined streets. The car was parked in front of the house with a separate roof and just four pillars to support the roof. Jeno got out of his SUV and unload their suitcases from the trunk. When Renjun was about to help him to take his suitcase, Jeno stopped him.

“Our room is on the second floor. Just go shower and sleep. I know you must be tired. I will take care of our suitcases.” Although Renjun wanted to protest, he agreed that he was tired, remembering he could not sleep at all the whole three hours, and he just wanted to throw himself into the bed as soon as possible. So, he retracted his hands from the suitcases and only nodded to Jeno, then headed to the second floor.

Jeno’s room was so spacious, with the dominant color of white, and small touch of grey for the bedsheet and some curtains. Renjun directly went to the shower. He was surprised how Jeno already prepared some pieces of stuff for him; two toothbrushes, different towels, and also a seemingly new pajama stocked in the cabinet behind the bathroom mirror. After showering, Renjun put on the pajama Jeno had prepared, and went out, only to find Jeno standing near the bed; holding a pillow in his hands.

“Hi, feeling fresh?” Jeno asked; he looked a bit surprised when Renjun opened the bathroom door.

“Yeah. Do you want to use the bathroom now?”

“Nah, it’s okay. I showered in the bathroom on the first floor.” Jeno was already in his short pants and a white sleeveless shirt. Hair was wet, and Renjun noticed how attractive Jeno was. _Impossible! How can someone look attractive in shorts and a sleeveless shirt?_

“Oh, Okay.” Renjun walked close to the other side of the bed, and he saw Jeno walked to the other side of the room, instead. _Oh!_ Then it clicked. “Jeno,” Renjun called out, stopping Jeno on his spot and he turned around to Renjun.

“Hm?”

“Actually, you don’t need to sleep on the sofa,” Jeno blinked once, twice, still not fully understanding what Renjun meant, so Renjun added, “I mean, I don’t want this to be so dramatic. There is no way I would tell you to sleep on the sofa forever. We’re married anyway, what’s the worst thing that can happen when we sleep on the same bed?” _except we fall in love with each other; but is it actually a bad thing?_ the last ones, he kept it to himself.

Jeno smiled and walked slowly to the bed, where Renjun was sitting on at the moment, “I only wanted to give you some space to adapt to everything, but if that’s okay for you if I sleep on the bed, then that’s good.”

Again, Renjun was so thankful for how considerate Jeno was. Renjun nodded while tapping the space beside him, telling Jeno to climb on the bed. Starting from that night, they shared the comfort of the bed and the warmth of the blanket for two.

ㅡ

A ray of sunlight pierced through the white curtain in the room and fell on Renjun’s sleeping face. With his one eye lazily opened, he peeked at his side only to find an empty space. Jeno had woken up. He got up from his bed and walked to the other side of the room where there was a glass door to the balcony. The sofa was put near the glass door so they could enjoy the hilly view from their room. Renjun slid the glass door open and stepped out to the balcony. The sunbeam shone through between the hills. Renjun took a deep breath; enjoying the morning breeze. It was such a perfect picture to enjoy during every moment he woke up in the morning. Jeno did a great job for this house, Renjun thought. From the balcony, if Renjun looked down, he would find their private pool which was so blue and reflected the morning sky above.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Renjun decided to find Jeno. He was surprised to find Jeno in the kitchen; standing in front of the stove.

“Are you cooking?” Renjun stood beside Jeno, checking on what he was doing.

“I’m just making French toast for us. Do you want cinnamon syrup on it?”

“Sure.” Renjun turned to sit at the dining table, giving Jeno some space for him cooking.

“Oh, anyway, I already switch on the espresso machine. It’s been thirty minutes, should be warmed up by now, right? I read the guide book and it says the warming up needs around fifteen until thirty minutes.”

Renjun followed in the direction Jeno pointed and found the espresso machine Jeno talked. Renjun was not even aware there was that machine there. Renjun walked there to check the said machine.

“Is this new?”

“Yeah, got one for you.”

Renjun was surprised at the amount of thought Jeno gave to him. It felt like Jeno actually prepared everything for him before he moved in.

“Do you want me to make some coffee for you?”

“Of course. Americano, please.” Jeno said, smiling. He was bringing two plates of toast and put it on the table. Jeno sat while waiting for Renjun to make coffee for him. “Anyway, I have an urgent meeting today, so I need to go to the office. It shouldn’t have taken too long, though. I’ll be back for lunch.”

“It’s okay,” Renjun replied, while still doing things with the machine. “Is everything okay?” Renjun asked; he remembered his mom said something similar to him that made his parents-in-law headed back to Seoul faster than him and Jeno.

“Yeah, yeah. Just a board meeting.” Renjun brought two cups of coffee to the table. “Also, since it’s Monday, someone will come later today to clean the house. So, don’t be surprised if you see someone going around the house.” Jeno explained.

“You drive by yourself to the office?” Renjun realized there was no one except them, and he did not recognize any other activity in the house except the one they did.

“Yeah. The driver who drove us yesterday is actually Dad’s driver. Sometimes I call them when I couldn’t drive alone.” _So, Jeno lives alone_ , Renjun concluded. Thinking about it made Renjun a bit sad for Jeno; it must feel so empty to live alone in such a big house. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone on your first day here. I’ll be back soon.” Jeno added.

“No, it’s fine, Jeno. It’s okay. I’ll just unpack my things today.”

Jeno smiled, “The packages you sent… I put it all in a room near our room, so you don’t need to move too far while unpacking it.”

“Thank you, Jeno.”

“Not a big deal! Also, I really love your coffee.” Jeno said while he sipped his coffee.

“Really?” Renjun’s eyes were sparkling. There was always something in his eyes every time he talked about coffee; something that warmed Jeno and Jeno really liked to see it.

“Yup. I rarely drink proper coffee, but now since you’re here, I could ask you to make me one every day.” Jeno said, chuckled.

Renjun joined, “Of course! I can be your private barista.”

The first morning Renjun spent in Jeno’s house was so much better than he ever expected. It did not totally feel foreign for him; the smell of coffee still filled the room, and he got a super nice company to talk to.

ㅡ

As Jeno had promised, he came home before lunch and they decided to order food for delivery since Jeno did not have enough ingredients in the fridge. The rest of the day was then spent by the two unpacking all Renjun’s packages and rearranging things inside the house since Renjun told Jeno that some items might be more convenient if they changed the position.

They finally lied on the bed almost midnight that day. Renjun positioned his back facing Jeno because he thought it would be awkward to do otherwise.

“Renjun, you sleep?” Renjun who had not yet fallen asleep even if he tried to, opened his eyes and only gave a hum as a response. “I actually want to talk to you about something.”

Renjun laid his full back on the mattress; eyes facing the ceiling. “What is it about?” Renjun was aware of how Jeno turned his body to face him. Renjun stayed still; too nervous to turn around and face him back. Too intimate for him too, he could not bear it just by thinking about it.

“I actually, have been preparing a café for you. I thought I would let you know once it’s done, but… I’m afraid you don’t like it, so how about checking it together tomorrow?”

“Is it because I asked you to rearrange things today?” Renjun chuckled. “I’m genuinely surprised to know you prepared a café for me, also thankful at the same time, and of course I’d love to check it with you,” Renjun added.

“I’m just afraid you’ll be bored if you don’t have anything to do, especially when later I actively work again, then you’ll be alone at home.”

Renjun smiled, so genuinely endeared by Jeno’s sincere heart. “Thank you, Jeno. I really appreciate it.” Jeno smiled at his response. He looked surprisingly so happy and proud after Renjun said his gratitude. “Oh, Jeno, I remember that our fridge is empty. Let’s do some groceries tomorrow after checking the café?”

Jeno nodded eagerly; too excited in Renjun’s opinion, honestly. “Okay,” Jeno replied, then they wrapped the night with the exchange of a goodnight.

Little did Renjun knew, Jeno was so happy to hear Renjun mentioned the fridge as ‘their’ fridge. Jeno dozed off to the dreamland with a wide smile on his face, and Renjun did not need to know that.

ㅡ

Another unexpected thing from Jeno that Renjun never thought of was how it was very convenient to work along with him. After arriving in the soon-to-be Renjun’s café and checking out the progress, Jeno offered Renjun to plan everything out with him. Jeno reached two chairs, still wrapped in its plastic, and unwrapped it for them to sit. They talked about how the café would work; Jeno offered his people to help Renjun managed the café until he hired the right people to work with him. Renjun was so thankful how Jeno was willing to help him a lot in almost everything; even offering to accompany him visiting some roasters to get partnership deals.

“Is it okay for you to leave the office that long?” Renjun asked when they finished making a plan for the whole week.

“Sure. Dad gave me a week off, honestly. Wedding gift, he said. It’s good, I can accompany you, moreover, you haven’t been yet familiar with Seoul.”

Renjun was about to answer Jeno when someone was pushing the door open. Out of reflects, both of them turned to look at the door at the same time; there, standing a tall boy, still holding the door open. He looked like a lost puppy. The boy looked around before finally met Renjun and Jeno’s gaze.

“Uh? Is the café still closed?” the boy spoke, finally, after some minutes just standing at the door.

“Yeah, do you need anything, kid?” Jeno asked; stood up and walked closer to the lost boy.

“Oh! Sorry,” the boy bowed. “I thought the café was opened since I saw some people inside. I didn’t look closely, I’m deeply sorry.” He bowed again.

“It’s okay. We’re going to open soon, though. You can come again later.” Renjun joined the conversation, still sitting in his seat.

“Thank you,” he scratched his head before awkwardly pointed at the door, “I’ll get going then.” Jeno helped to open the door while smiling at the boy. He was about to close the door when the boy stopped halfway and turned around to face Jeno. “Actually, do you guys, perhaps, hire people to work here?”

Renjun heard and seemed interested to know, so he stood up and walked to the door where his husband and the boy were standing.

“Are you looking for a job?” Renjun asked.

“Uh, actually, yes.”

“Do you like coffee?”

“Uh, no? not really, but I can learn to work, or even learn to like it. Not a big deal to me as long as I can get a job.” the boy answered, honest.

Renjun needed people who could handle his café, yes, but when he looked at the lost boy, he got reminded of Chenle. Perhaps it was just his nature as a big brother, but he imagined the boy was Chenle- his little brother Chenle, who was looking for a job. Renjun looked at Jeno, and his husband mouthed ‘How?’, so Renjun said to the lost boy, “What is your name, kid?”

“Uh, Jisung. Park Jisung. I’m in my first year of college, in case you’re wondering.”

“Do you want to come over tomorrow and learn how to work in a café?” Renjun asked again.

Jisung looked so excited with Renjun’s offer that he jumped a little while saying ‘yes’ in a loud voice; which was regretted seconds later, because he quickly stopped and bowed while saying ‘sorry’, again. Jeno and Renjun chuckled at the view in front of him. Jeno then asked Jisung to exchange contacts, so they could inform him about the further appointment the next day.

“He reminds me of Chenle,” Renjun said a moment after Jisung left. They were walking back to their car.

“Would it be okay for you to train him alone?”

“Yeah, should be okay. I don’t mind training people from zero, as long as they want to learn.”

“So, you’re gonna give him a chance to learn first?”

“Yes. Should be okay, right?” They stopped in front of Jeno’s car.

“Of course.” Jeno smiled while walking to the passenger side and opened the door for Renjun. “We all started from zero, anyway.” he smiled again and closed the car door after Renjun hopped in.

ㅡ

Teaching Jisung was actually not difficult at all. Jisung was a fast-learner to catch what Renjun taught him how to brew coffee and pull some espresso shots. The minus was, Jisung had clumsy hands. He could easily drop things he held or spilled the milk which was supposed to pour into the milk jug. Renjun could only laugh it off and reminded Jisung to be more careful. Jisung was a good kid; Renjun could see it, so he would not mind keeping him around, as far Jisung was willing to learn from the mistakes he made.

On the other hand, Jeno was patiently accompanying him in training Jisung. He would come along every time Renjun came to the café. Jeno helped the workers to decorate the café while waiting for Renjun to do his session with Jisung. He would also help Renjun to explain things to Jisung when he ran out of words in Korean. It was very nice to have Jeno around, Renjun realized. In a foreign place, even if he could speak very fluently and be used to be away from home, it could still be lonely at times, but Jeno was always there to distract him, always there to make jokes which were actually not funny, but Renjun still laughed at it. In short, Jeno was such a great company.

At night, Renjun usually went to bed right away to let his body rest after a tiring day. But that night, the sky was so beautiful that Renjun could not help but staring from the balcony of their room. From the balcony, Renjun could hear Jeno turned on the television. He walked back to the room and closed the glass door and the curtain.

“What are you going to watch?” He asked, joining Jeno to the bed.

“I don’t know. I usually just watch whatever interesting at the moment.” Renjun nodded to the answer. He was thinking if there was any recommendation to watch. “Do you mind if I watch this?” Jeno asked again; making Renjun turned his attention to the screen of television now. Confused, he looked back at Jeno.

“SpongeBob?” Jeno grinned at him, which caused Renjun to laugh so loud.

“Why?! Why are you laughing at me?! SpongeBob can make you laugh! That’s what’s important.” Jeno defended himself.

Renjun could not believe that a man like Lee Jeno liked to watch SpongeBob before going to bed. There surely were a lot of things surprising from him. Renjun shook his head, “Okay, okay we can watch it. It just surprises me! Never expected a Lee Jeno would watch SpongeBob at night.”

“If we watch something serious then we may not be able to sleep, if we just watch something funny like this, it doesn’t matter if we fall asleep midway.” Jeno reasoned. Renjun agreed, though. He never thought about that. “Anyway, ready for tomorrow?”

Renjun looked at Jeno then smiled, “I’ve ever done this before, but I don’t know why it still makes me nervous.”

Jeno reached for Renjun’s knees and rubbed it reassuringly, “It’s going to be okay.” Renjun realized it was Jeno’s favorite gesture to calm him down every time he felt nervous. Renjun, as the receiving end of it all, of course, was very thankful for it.

The next day would finally be the day of the café opening. Renjun and Jeno had been so busy preparing for it the whole day. They had also posted the news of the opening on the internet; hoping it would engage more people to come. Renjun had experienced this once back then, but he still felt thrilled. It was another new door that he got to open tomorrow, and he was excited to discover what lied behind the door. Halfway through the movie, Renjun turned his head to his left side and found Jeno wrapped in the blanket; eyes closed, lips half parted, chest rising and falling.

Renjun turned the television off, then said to the sleeping guy beside him, “Good Night, Jeno.”

ㅡ

On the morning of the opening day, Renjun was already busy checking all the beans and milk stocks. The café size was not much different from the one in China. The wall was painted all white with huge glass doors and windows because Jeno liked a room with an abundance of sunlight.

Jisung had already come, helping Renjun preparing everything behind the bar. Five other workers were also already present; looking good in the black apron of their café. By the clock pointing at eight, they officially opened the café. Two workers were standing in front of the café to give brochures to passersby. Jisung was ready behind the counter to take the orders. Renjun and one other barista were going to handle the order in the front bar, and two workers left were going to work in the kitchen. And Jeno… Renjun just realized he had not been seeing Jeno since he was busy preparing everything. Renjun looked around and found Jeno standing in front of the café; brochures in his hands. Renjun smiled to himself; he might not realize this yet, but he was so happy to have Jeno around helping him.

To Renjun’s surprise, the day went very well. Although he did not expect the café would be filled with a lot of customers, it turned out the other way around.

“Boss Jeno must be very popular back in school, right, Boss?” Jisung suddenly asked. Renjun was drawing a Rosetta on a cup in his hand. When he finished pulling the last line to finish his drawing, he looked up and looked outside the window where Jisung pointed at. The man in question was standing in the same place Renjun saw him the last time, besides, this time, he was surrounded by a lot of… girls. It looked like the girls were _asking_ him about the brochure or something, because Renjun saw Jeno explaining things while pointing at the brochure.

“Is this why our café packed with customers?” Renjun asked Jisung back. He sounded so annoyed for his own ears.

“Are you jealous, Boss?” Renjun has reminded Jisung to just call him by his name, but Jisung liked to tease around and calling them with ‘Boss’ instead. Renjun had given up to correct Jisung every single time and just let the younger boy called him whatever he wanted.

Hearing Jisung’s question, Renjun was surprised. He did not expect he would ever get that kind of question. He believed he was not the type of jealousy person, anyway. So, Renjun just shrugged. Jisung laughed upon Renjun’s response and went back to his counter. Apparently, he was already satisfied teasing Renjun like that. Weird enough for Renjun, because he found himself walking to the front door and slid the glass door opened. Jeno seemed to realize his presence in the door because then he looked up in Renjun’s direction. Renjun waved at Jeno.

“Is everything good inside?” Jeno asked, after sprinting to Renjun right after he waved at him; leaving the group of girls behind.

“Yeah. I just finished making the last order at the moment.” Renjun looked at the girls who were surrounding Jeno before, started to walk inside the café after Jeno left them. Renjun slid the glass door wider to let them in. “Aren’t you tired?” Renjun asked Jeno, attention then shifted from the group of girls to Jeno.

“Why are you looking at them like that?” Jeno chuckled.

“What?”

“You looked like you were about to bite them just now.”

“No, I’m not.” Renjun rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jeno, still chuckling, messed up Renjun’s hair before walking inside. Renjun was about to complain when Jeno suddenly reached for his arms which were crossed in front of his chest, “I want coffee.” Jeno asked, _pleaded_ ; voice just above a whisper. Renjun did not know how that could happen, but he realized how his cheeks suddenly felt warm. He found himself questioning a lot why such contacts with Jeno could make him feeling things in his chest.

Renjun cleared his throat, “Okay.” he walked passing Jeno before Jeno could realize the change on his face.

“Why are you so red?” Jisung asked when Renjun was back behind the bar. His question gained a kick on his feet from Renjun. Jeno was standing in front of them, close enough to hear Jisung’s question, though hard enough to see them as the espresso machine hid them well. Upon gaining the kick, Jisung quickly uttered a whisper ‘sorry’. “Can I help to make this?” Jisung offered.

Renjun smiled; one of the reasons why he liked Jisung was how he always initiated to learn to do things. Renjun handed the measuring cup filled with beans to Jisung.

“Would it be okay if I put the grinder in 2?” Jisung asked Renjun while putting the beans inside the grinder.

“Can you check the roasting date?”

“It was a week ago.”

“Should be okay in 2.”

After gaining an answer from Renjun, Jisung pushed the power button on the grinder and collected the perfect ground coffee using a portafilter in his hand. Renjun, on the other hand, prepared the milk for Jisung to steam later after he pulled the espresso shots.

“It’s still difficult for me to draw any latte art,” Jisung said, giving the milk jug to Renjun after he finished frothing the milk.

“It’s okay, it takes time to learn. But the important one should be the taste of the coffee. So, focus on making good coffee and frothing the milk well first. Latte art can follow later.” Renjun smiled while his hand swirled the milk jug before he slowly poured the steamed milk into the cup. Jisung still stood beside Renjun and observed all the actions Renjun made. Sometimes, he followed the move that Renjun made; pretending that he was also doing the latte art.

“Here,” Renjun put a cup of cappuccino in front of Jeno who was busy checking his phone. “Jisung made this.”

“Woah really?” Jeno pushed back the phone into his jeans pocket and looked at Jisung who was grinning at the mention of his name, “Thank you, Jisung.”

“Ah, it’s because Boss Renjun helped me! Hope you enjoy it, Boss!” Jisung said; his voice sounded so excited. Both Renjun and Jeno laughed upon Jisung’s reaction. He was so cute, both of them agreed.

“Is everything okay?” Renjun asked after a while; implicitly pointing out at the previous scene when Jeno was checking his phone.

“Yeah,” Jeno replied after took his first sip of the coffee. “I think some people from my business partners found out that you opened a café, so they were telling me, they will send some gifts.”

Renjun furrowed, “How?”

Jeno took out his phone from his jeans pocket and showed it to Renjun, “Apparently some girls posted some photos of our café on SNS, and I was included in the picture.” Jeno’s phone screen was showing a photo of the group of girls Renjun saw earlier; there were five girls and all of them stood beside Jeno, and Jeno even smiled at the camera.

“They were not taking photos of our café, they took photos _with_ you.” Renjun corrected Jeno; again, it was out of Renjun’s control that he sounded annoyed, not only to his own ears but apparently for Jeno too, because Jeno laughed out loud after that.

“Why do you sound so angry?”

“No.”

“Yes, Renjun, you do. Are you jealous?”

“Jeno!”

With a face so red from embarrassment, Renjun left to the kitchen. Honestly, he did not know the answer to Jeno’s question. He was sure he had not _yet_ fallen to Jeno, so how could it be possible to feel jealous, right? _Or the case might be otherwise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't make a whole coffee-making difficult too understand (/ω＼) I just miss brewing coffee so much (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

**Author's Note:**

> my babie jie, this idea came to me in one sunday afternoon, and I just thought I needed to write it as I remember both of us really needed another arranged marriage jenren 🥺 this is for you, baby, thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin. I really hope you like it, and I will do my best to write this until the end, so please stick with me! I love you so much ❤
> 
> -
> 
> for anyone who wants to share your thoughts with me, I really like to hear your suggestions or anything, please feel free to hit me on my cc or twitter!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/23RJSMR) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/amerencano)


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